Nearly nine months after the New Democratic Party (NDP) administration took office following general elections, the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force is set to welcome a new temporary leadership structure starting Monday. Reliable sources close to the matter have confirmed to iWitness News that current Commissioner of Police Enville Williams will begin a 150-day scheduled leave period, triggering a series of interim role appointments across the force’s senior command.
Stepping into the top role during Williams’ absence will be Trevor “Buju” Bailey, who will serve as acting Commissioner of Police. Joining Bailey in the interim senior team is Junior Simmons, who has been tapped to fill the position of acting Deputy Commissioner of Police. The previous Deputy Commissioner, Frankie Joseph, has already exited the role to begin pre-retirement leave.
One of the most notable appointments is that of Brenton Smith, a veteran officer who was forced to leave the constabulary 28 years into his career over the former government’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Following the NDP’s election victory in November, Smith was reinstated to the force, and he will now take on the role of acting Assistant Commissioner of Police. Prior to his return to policing, Smith held a key party position as General Secretary of the NDP.
The leadership overhaul comes at a critical moment for the Caribbean nation, which has already recorded 31 homicides in the current year. If the current rate of violent crime continues, St. Vincent and the Grenadines is on track to exceed the 40 homicide total recorded in 2025, marking a new high for violent crime in the country. Some security observers have pointed out that the only consistent factor through the recent escalation in criminal activity has been the stagnant senior leadership of the national police force — a dynamic that the interim changes are expected to address ahead of a permanent leadership arrangement.